Kill Joy
by KJ72
Summary: A young girl with a mysterious power may be the one able to save Terra from her dark sleep, but will it mean the resurrection of Slade, also? Set two years prior to the defeat of the Brotherhood of Evil. Rated M for later chapters. HIATUS
1. Anya Jun

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Teen Titans, but I did create Anya and the next new characters who will come in later chapters. Please enjoy!

**Kill Joy**

KurobaraShinigami

Chapter 1:

Anya Jun

"Ma, what this new school about?" Anya sighed as her mother drove her into a new world filled with skyscrapers and zooming taxis. Her waist-long ebony hair flowed behind her; her bangs caressed her pale face and forest-green eyes that glowed slightly whenever she looked away. Her small build was surprisingly buffed a bit, due to years of martial arts training in Southern Japan and South Korea. Her face was fair, but the hints of old scars were still visible to the naked eye. Her clothes seemed to match her mood: black long-sleeved shirt, black karate-based pants, black boots, and several wristbands covering her arm.

"Anya, sweetie, these kids are just like you, so please, baby, don't get mad." Mrs. Jun cooed. _'Like me? As if,_' she thought, and just sighed and leaned on her arm, staring out the window, trying to imagine what these new people were like. She thought about what her mother described to her: a boy who can shape shift, a girl who can telepathically control the dark, a half-man, half-robot kid, an alien girl, and a former sidekick with an _ego_ whose name escapes her. She lost her thoughts as her mother honked her horn and smiled uncontrollably.

"We're here, honey! This is Titans Tower! Or, the pier to it..." Mrs. Jun reached for her cell phone and punched in some random numbers and lifted the phone to her ear, and waited. How she can be so willing to lose her, Anya had no clue. "Hello? Yes, this is Katherine Jun; we spoke the other day... Yes, we're here... Uh-huh... Aqualad? I see... Alright... Yes, thank you very much!!" She excitedly closed her phone and shooed her daughter out her car. "Go! Go! That young man over there will take you there! Go, now, don't make them late!"

Anya just sat for a second in the car, then unclipped her seatbelt, and opened the door. She knew what her mother really wanted: she wanted her freak-of-a-daughter gone and out of her life. Ironically, so did Anya. As soon as she exited out of the car, her mother immediately screeched her car out of there in a hurry, nearly running her over. _'What a way to go and leave your offspring on the very eve of her 16th birthday,_' she thought crudely. She could practically hear her mother humming as she left.

"...Bye, Mom." Anya whispered sarcastically, and turned to look for this 'Aqualad' the people on the phone were talking about. The first thing she saw was some teen aged kid in blue and black spandex. "You 'Aqua Kid,' or something?"

"Aqua_lad_, and yes, I am. And you are...?" The Spandex-Kid raised his hand to her, waiting for a greeting. Anya cautiously stared at his hand, and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"...Anya Jun. I'm the new kid here." She nodded to his hand. "If you don't wanna die, then put your hand down." Surprised, Aqualad let his arm go limp, and just nodded back.

"Alright, then, follow me." He sighed in confusion and looked down by the pier. "Come on, I've arranged a ride for you." Anya nodded and walked a few steps behind him. She observed him from behind, and thought of different scenarios and how, exactly, he'd get them to the Tower. Before she could ask, Aqualad stopped and turned to her.

"Jump in." She stared at him, and walked past him to see what he meant by, 'jumping in.' She nearly ran for cover as soon as she saw a pair of huge, green eyes staring back at her, and something whistling in the water.

"Whoa, back up... You want me to jump in the mouth of a _whale_?! Are you insane?!" She fumed at him, but stayed her distance. She didn't want to get in trouble on her first day of being recruited. Aqualad lifted an eyebrow, then turned to the whale and squinted. Soon enough, the whale responded, and dived back under the water. Seconds later, a huge, orange submarine floated to the surface and the first three out of five hatches opened to reveal one open seat, and two boys, one that looked like an auto shop, and the other, also in spandex, looked like he was destined to be a general in the army (or a God) as soon as he turned 18.

"Yo! You're Anya, right? Hop on, since you won't take B.B.'s ride." The robot-kid thumbed to the whale on his right, who suddenly transformed into a kid with green skin and purple and black spandex. _'What is with these guys and spandex?!'_ Anya thought dully, and sighed. Despite her thoughts, she kept her emotions to herself.

"Sure, whatever, just don't touch me." She read the others reactions and sighed. "I'll tell ya later." She nearly growled as she jumped into an empty seat in the sub, and twitched. "What the--?!" She stood up for a second, then growled again, and grabbed the headphones off the seat. After seconds of turning it and staring, she adjusted it on her head and clicked on the communication link. She wasn't going to use it, but then again, they'd want to talk to her. She jumped as soon as the hatch slammed shut and the pneumatics to close it hissed in reply. Sighing, she looked up to see Aqualad jump in the water and swim right next to her seat. She leaned back into the seat, and scowled. _'This sucks...'_

(A/N: I know that as soon as you've read this chapter, I have failed to mention what her powers were except for the small part that said, "If you don't want to die, then put your hand down." I did this on purpose. I will mention her powers in the next few chapters, and then some, so until then, please R&R!)


	2. Time Reaper

Chapter 2:

Time Reaper

The ocean was a vast, beautiful blue, covering almost the entire planet, and as deep as a woman's heart-felt emotions. That's why Anya hated the water. She sat in the seat for who knows how long, and already she was sick of it. It seemed the only entertainment was watching Aqualad and Beast Boy (she found out his name easily enough, since 'Robot-Boy' called him B.B.) swim in the ocean, but surprisingly cautious.

"So, Anya, what's your power supposed to be if your mom sent you to stay with us?" She heard 'Ego-Spandex kid's' voice crackle through the intercom, and she slumped in her seat. She didn't want to answer; she never wanted that question to be asked. Damn Bird-Boy had to be smart and ask, anyway.

"I don't like talking about it, but I'll show you as soon as we reach—" She was cut off due to a huge slam into the T-Sub, and she was jolted out of her seat. "What the- What was that?!"

"Robin, the main engine's been hit! Something knocked into B.B., and hit us! We're losing oxygen fast, and we're goin down!"

"Tell me something I don't know!" Robin's voice growled through the intercom, and she saw him sit up in his seat and pull at the steering wheel, then he seemed to be startled and somewhat stood up in his seat. He had a good reason to, since she had seen why as she looked down in he own seat.

"Shit! There's water leaking everywhere!" Anya tried to squat in her chair so she wouldn't get wet, but the water was also spilling through newly found cracks in the glass hatch, and soaking her hair.

"I said to tell me something I _didn't_ know!" Anya heard him hiss, then cuss a blue streak as the water nearly filled his hatch in no time. "Cyborg! Call Starfire and Raven over he—" He suddenly stopped, and she gasped as his hatch was now incased in water. She groaned, and thought for a second. Sparks flew from the controls in front of her, and she screamed. She might have to use it, but she didn't want to; who knows what'll happen if she did?

They'd be saved, for one. Two, she never liked water, anyway. Three, well, they'd find out her powers one way or another.

"I know what I have to do; I just don't want to do it!" Groaning, Anya finally clicked on a button to open the hatch, and held her breath. With difficulty, the hatch finally opened, and water rushed in and grabbed her out into the open water, and broke the glass hatch door as it did. For the moment, she had her eyes close and the air almost knocked out of her, but she finally managed to open them, and swim to the sub's hull. She had no choice, now; she had to do it...

Without warning, Aqualad swam up to her and grabbed her arm. He was trying to get her to the surface, she could tell that much, but she shoved him away and laid her hand to rest on the hull. At first, nothing happened, but then, the ship's damaged engine was reverting back to its original state, and the glass hatch-doors were slowly healing themselves of the cracks. She could hear Robin and Cyborg gasp for air and saw them look up at her, obviously surprised, but not as surprised as Aqualad was.

She had reversed time around the ship and its passengers, and saved them all.

She could care less for their reaction, but she painfully noticed her lungs squeezing and coughed out what was left of the air she had held in for so long.

Smirking as she floated above the ship, Anya released her grip from the T-Sub, and let Aqualad swim her up to the surface for air. She felt Beast Boy swim under them and help them to the surface with his whale's body.

The first thing she saw was the clear-blue sky and birds flying here and there in search for food. The next thing was Aqualad's face hovering over hers and him calling her name.

"Anya! Are you alright?! Hey!" He patted her cheek softly a few times, and called her again.

"I heard you the first time..." She murmured as she grabbed his hand and slowly sat up. Her chest hurt due to the lack of oxygen, and she took several deep breaths for the pain to expel itself away. She heard him sigh, and she glanced at the ocean surface to find that they had finally reached land. "Where are we?"

"At Teen Titan's HQ, otherwise known as Titans Tower." He pointed to the tower in the middle of an island shaped like a 'T' with no other way of getting to the city except for a hiddwn highway under the water leading straight towards the city. She sighed and slowly stood up.

"Great. Now that we're here, I can never go home."


	3. Home Sweet Home

Chapter 3:

Home Sweet Home

The Titans Tower was bigger than Anya thought it would be as she stared in amazement at its vast corridors and huge rooms. Maybe she _could _get used to this…

"Welcome, new friend!" A giddy voice echoed above her, and suddenly crashed into her like lightning. She shrieked a bit, and tried not to touch the Hugging Alien Chick.

"D'ya mind getting off, now?!" Anya growled and reversed the time the alien girl had flown into her. The girl gasped and clapped her hands, giggling.

"Oh! Is that her power? What a joyous thing to have!" Suddenly, the alien girl's hands clasped her own. "My name is Starfire! What is yours?"

Anya shuddered at the sudden contact, and closed her eyes; she was trying to keep a mental hold on her powers until Starfire lets go. "A…Anya. Anya Jun. I'm a Time Reaper… Can you let go, please?" Beads of sweat were now visible to the open world, and then she saw something black cover their hands and separate them.

"Starfire, let go. She's in pain," Another voice- this one sounded like each word had sadness sown into it- whispered in from below them, and a girl with a violet cloak appeared through a shadow from the ground. Anya lightly gasped as she still contained her power, but better at controlling it now that Mystery Girl had let them go. The girl turned to Anya and took off the hood of her cloak. "My name's Raven. Welcome to Titans Tower."

Anya nodded slightly, and rubbed her left cheek with the back of her right hand out of habit. Beast Boy noticed this, and grabbed her arm to look at her cheek.

"How'd you get those scars?"

She stopped short, and stiffened her back. The time around Beast Boy hovered, and he was levitated back into a dog and on the couch before he knew it. The others hesitated to move, but were now a bit interested of her cheek. Anya noticed this, and she cursed under her breath, and stormed out of the room into the next corridor, fuming.

"What's with her?" Beast Boy asked innocently.

"She's obviously not going to tell us anytime soon, thanks to you." Raven said bluntly. "Besides, it holds something painful from her past; even I don't want to look into it…" Raven's voice faded, and she quietly sighed. She had seen a small part of Anya's past, unintentionally, really, but nonetheless, painful. Robin nodded, and turned to Starfire to see her still floating in frozen time.

"Someone get Anya, and tell her to put time back around Starfire. She's still stuck." Robin grunted slightly, and looked at where Anya had left. There's something about her that she didn't want them to know, obviously, but for some reason, she reminded him of someone, someone who was very dear to them all…

Anya looked outside to the massive body of water separating the Tower from the main city, and suddenly thought of Aqualad, and coughed. She wasn't sure of why she did, so, but it seemed every time she thought of someone, she would cough, so she passed it off as a bad habit. She wiped the side of her mouth, and caressed her scarred face gently, letting her memories fly in her mind, and slowly closed her eyes. There were so many people she had met in her life, the places she'd gone, the homes she abandoned, the family she lost…

A knock on the door behind her woke her up from her daydream, and she quickly answered it. "Yeah, Cyborg? What's up?"

"Yo, sorry with B.B.; he's a bit nosy when it comes to new people—"

"It's cool. It's my fault, really, since I ran." She scratched her head, and smirked apologetically.

"Actually, I was also about to say you left Star in your time-thingy…" Cyborg smiled a little, and then pointed to the still-floating Starfire he had to drag over to her door. Anya shrieked and quickly continued the time around Starfire, and clasped her hands together and bowed her head low past her raised arms over her shoulders.

"I'm so sorry!!! I forgot to keep the time flow! I'm sorry!!"

Starfire giggled again, and patted Anya's back gently, and gave her a huge smile. "It is alright, Anya! No harm was done; all is well! You are my new friend!"

Anya slowly soaked up the last words she said, and gave her back a small, sad smile. "Friends…" Her eyes darkened a bit, and her head hung low, and Starfire suddenly shrieked and hugged her again.

"Oh, please do not cry!!! I did not wish for this! Please, Anya!" She squeezed her again, and Anya nearly choked, one from the hug, and two from holding back her powers.

"No...touchy...please..." She barely managed to squeak out her plea when Starfire nearly snapped her arm off.

"Starfire! C'mon, that's enough, ya kill her--"

The alarm suddenly went off, and the hallways turned red. Anya pulled away, and ran to her window to see if Aqualad was in trouble again. "What's going on? Where's--"

"Titans, trouble! Report to the main hall immediatly!" Robin's voice echoed throughout the room, and the others quickly left after the order was made. Anya was alone in her room, finally, and she slowly followed them into the main hall. _Might as well,_ she thought, and scratched her head. She smirked lightly, randomly out of nowhere, and shoved her hands in her pockets, chuckling a bit.

_This ought to be fun..._


	4. Brother, Thou Art Dead

Chapter 4:

Brother, Thou Art Dead

The entire Tower was filled with the blaring sirens as each member filed in the main room, anxious, wondering who it was this time to disturb them. Even Aqualad had joined in, to Anya's discomfort. Robin was already at the controls, the sound of clicking keys following his quick typing as he turned on the large panel that had acted as a large window when unused. An image of the city suddenly flashed in place of the window, and a small red circle flashed every now and then, and it moved from within a holograph of the bank downtown. Anya watched the circle carefully, watching it's movements. For some reason, it seemed familiar… She shook her head and turned to the others.

"From what I gathered, the person who had attacked us earlier also attacked the Bank, and they used the same method: calm-before-the-storm tactic. They probably walked into the building, without drawing attention to themselves, and destroyed the vault door before anyone could see them. However…" Robin typed a bit more, and his eyebrows furrowed closer together, confused. "…They didn't take anything. They just wanted to make things explode. Almost like a game…

Anya was leaning in closer now, her eyes fixed on the information now flooding the small screen below the enormous one before them. '_I know that tactic… But it can't be…!' _She bit her cheek to keep from growling, and abruptly turned towards the door leading to the outside world. Several shocked voices followed behind her, and she felt a hand rest against her shoulder. "Anya! Will you wait? What's going on?"

She turned to Aqualad, and glared at his black eyes with intense emerald. "This is none of your concern. I can handle this one alone."

He grabbed her wrist and narrowed his own eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, Anya. Believe it or not, you're a part of a team, now, which means everyone goes in. You can't do this alone, Anya; none of us can."

She shoved him back, glared at him again, and continued out. It wasn't complete denial, and they took the cue and followed closely, as to not lose her, but not too close as to exact her rage, and headed to what looked like a garage or a hanger of some type. A car designed slightly like Cyborg was waiting for them, and Anya yanked the door open before they could even bother to stop her. Cyborg had gotten in first; he was the one driving. Robin and Starfire had headed the other direction, as did Aqualad, and finally, Beast Boy and Raven filed in the car quickly. Cyborg eagerly turned the key in the ignition, and the engine gave a sudden roar to life, then the hanger door opened, the underwater highway in plain view. The car flew out, followed by a red bike that she assumed was Robin's, and when she glanced up, she could see Aqualad skimming through the water towards the city. Flying above the surface of the water was Starfire, her eyes completely covered with a bright green halo. She turned again to look straight ahead, to the city Bank, hoping, praying, that she was wrong. If she wasn't, then the Titans might be in more trouble than they had bargained for when they had accepted her…

She mentally shook her head, and noted that, as soon as they had reached the surface, Aqualad had taken a ride with Robin on his bike, and Starfire was still flying high above them. She stared ahead again-- well, more like glared ahead. She could feel the reins of her powers starting to loosen, and slowly released a smirk as the Bank had came into view. She didn't bother with the door; she opened the window and jumped out, landing on the front step of the Bank. The car had screeched to a halt down the street, the bike soon following, and the rest of the Titans came out of their vehicles and ran to the Bank after Anya.

The door had been blown to bits, the small splintered pieces decorated the floor like snow. Anya picked up one of the larger pieces, studied it, and then the rest of the door lifted themselves from the ground, and flew back into place where the door had been, reforming itself into place. The others had to hurry past the door before it shut them out, barely making it through. Anya then turned towards the vault, knowing well that the person who attacked hadn't left yet. She smirked, breaking into a small sweat. When was the last time she had seen this person? Two years? Three? 'This is one hell of a reunion,' she snorted.

The vault was in worse shape than the door, but it would be back up in no time. "Wait here. I'll be back." She turned to see if they would comply, knowing they wouldn't. She was proven right when Aqualad had glared at her again, and Robin shook his head.

"You heard it before, Anya: We do it together, or not at all." He took one step up, almost sizing her up. She didn't back down, but she didn't disobey either.

"Fine, but on my terms, got it? I think I know who's in there, and if I can get him out, you can go from there. Sound good?"

They glanced at each other for a few moments, and finally nodded, with the exception of Aqualad, to no one's surprise. She just nodded back, and walked towards the vault entrance to get a good look at the boy standing in the middle on the vault, arms crossed over his chest, leaning on the bending pillar in the once heavily guarded room. She caught his attention by reversing the time around the pillar to its original form. "Hello, Andrew."

That really got his attention. The figure within turned to her, dressed slightly similar to her: black sweater, and a simple pain of jeans that were a bit loose, held up with a studded belt. His dark green eyes, -- well, eye, actually, since his hair hid the other one-- made darker with his pale complexion, were an ultimate contrast to her shining emerald eyes, wide with surprise. Despite himself, he broke into a large grin, and he tossed back raven black hair to the side of his face, revealing a small scar on his left cheek covered with four wide stitches. "Anya? Now this is weird. I'd expect you to be at school or something at this hour. What are you doing here? Does Mom know you aren't home?"

She snorted, and stepped towards him, slowly over the now flying bits of the pillar flying quickly past her feet. "Andrew, if Mom didn't know, I wouldn't be here. You know how she acts when I leave the house-- Oh, wait, no you don't. You left me there to deal with Mom alone, just like everyone else. How could I forget?" Her tone was thick with poison of old wounds, and she knew her brother had heard it, since she saw him wince visibly at the verbal lashing she had just given him.

"Anya, I shouldn't have to tell you. You already know, I know you do." His eyes seemed to darken, and he lowered his head slightly to stare at her through his long bangs. "I needed help on finding… Her."

Anya's eyes widened at the mention of Her. He never mentioned Her. So why now? "What are you thinking, Andrew…?"

Andrew just stared at her for a long time, and sighed. He ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back to fully reveal the scar on his cheek, and his now fully viewed eyes. Or it would've, if he had another eye. Anya's hand immediately flew to her own scarred cheek, barely letting the small gasp escape her lips, but her eyes didn't read of surprise, instead, it read of regret. '_Of course… That's why…'_

He smirked, and ruffled his hair again, hiding his eyeless socket. "Yeah… That's why I need Her. She can fix it, since you can't."

She froze. So he still blamed her. She lowered her gaze to the floor, clenching her fists that lay rest on her sides. "Andrew… I can't reverse De--" She never got to finish her sentence. Something grabbed her mouth and around her waist, making her grunt in both surprise and struggle as she was dragged to the ground suddenly. She caught fleeting glimpses at Cyborg and Beast boy, running in the vault, along with Robin. Starfire flew in seconds later, shooting green blasts from her hands at the invisible enemy. She had enough time to see Raven drag Andrew down, too, before she got a good glimpse at the reason why they were dragged down to the ground.

Something that resembled a dog had sliced through the previously fixed pillar column, and was now falling over them, bringing the roof to cave in on the eight of them, closing them in the shrouded darkness, away from the outside world.

'_Oh God… Not here, not now…'_

Anya's felt something tug at her power within her, and immediately a shield was up before she could push her power back. That last unannounced attempt to save their lives had such a surge to her strength, she didn't feel the sudden closeness of her rescuer, and the small kiss on her temple.

((A/N:: Hehe, so, yeah, this is chapter four. I am sorry for the wait, everyone... bows I will try to write more when I have time in between day school and night school, but until then, have fun reading! Please RxR!))


	5. Her Promise

Chapter 5:

Her Promise

The first thing Anya could register was a few soft, murmuring whispers that floated in and out of her consciousness. Next was the burning sensation in her left arm. Then came the dull light from behind her eyelids. She grunted in surprise, and sighed painfully. "Sunnuva--"

"Anya! She is well! Come, everyone! She is awakened!" Starfire's usual bubbly voice cut into Anya's thoughts, and made her already painful headache into a throbbing migraine. "Please! Everyone hurry!"

"Goddammit, Star, shut up…" Anya motioned to her head, and groaned again. She made a mental note to avoid further damaging her body if it meant she would save herself from Starfire's shrieks o' death. "On my life, please, shut… Up…"

"Oh… My apologies, but I am just--"

"Uup-up-up!" Her hand went up in a flash, and she cleared her throat. "I only need… five seconds. At most. Don't let the others in, alright?"

Starfire stared at her in silence, almost making a move to object, stopped, and nodded. She locked the door before the rest came. After she had done her duty, and stood guard at the door, she faced Anya with quiet curiosity.

The small light bulb above both girls heads buzzed and flickered, and in the five seconds that she promised, Anya was healed. Her ribs that were broken in three places fused back together; the wound from her arm ceased bleeding and closed up; her tiny concussion she had felt was now entirely gone. With a sigh, the process was finished, and she jumped off the bed and nodded to a flabbergasted Starfire. Anya had to bite the inside of her cheek from laughing, and patted her shoulder.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine now. You can let the others in now," She stared at Starfire's mouth opening and closing like a fish, and immediately let the laugh out. "Holy Christ, Star! You look like Aqua--" She stopped. Something out of Time was prickling on her senses, and it felt all too familiar.

The door opened behind her, and the voice that answered had confirmed her grief. "Hey, Anya, glad to have you back."

"Andy, what are you doing here? I thought you were go--"

Andy lifted his hand up at once. "Going back home? Like this? In case you haven't noticed, I'm dead, and kicking. I doubt Ma would want a zombie for a son." He shrugged with a smirk. _He doesn't care anymore_, she noted, _it's almost normal to him, now. Christ_. His smirk shifted then into a huge smile, and he rung his arm over both Anya and Starfire's shoulder. "And 'sides, there's plenty room here in T-Tower."

She took another mental note on his tone, and groaned. Starfire just giggled, and lifted his arm off her shoulder with her kind smile. Anya had a small feeling that Starfire was probably overjoyed to have another friend to squeeze to death (pun intended).

"I will ask Robin for that request. For now, however, I must check on Aqualad. His leg was injured during the last attack." She bowed, and quickly flew off towards the left. Andy scratched his head, and sighed. He looked down to his sister to inquire whether looking or not was a good idea.

He got his answer by then realizing his arm was completely unsupported, and fell. "Damn it, Anya! Warn me next time!"

Anya hadn't waited for Andy to follow, and instead was able to run past Starfire and into the Medical Ward. The door was only slightly ajar, but still Anya jammed her shoulder into the door to open it more. It ricocheted once before actually closing, but she could've cared less. She had a duty to uphold.

She soon found her destined area, the Intense Care Unit, only a few doors down from where she had entered. She had found Robin and Cyborg first, then Raven in a chair next to them, her arm in a sling. She dully noted Beast Boy was also missing, but figured he was probably also injured. She walked by Raven swiftly, waving her arm over the sling, and patted Robin's shoulder. "Oi, where's Aqualad?"

"Huh? Anya? Why do--"

"Answer, Bird Boy. Or did you forget I can heal all of you without breaking a sweat?" Anya's grip on his shoulder tightened. He flinched, but turned only to glare back at her deep emerald eyes.

"… He's in the tank behind the curtain. Beast Boy is in the bed next to him. They both got hurt during the collapse," He sighed deeply, almost troubled. "Thing is, though, Anya, you just can't go parading through the Tower and healing everyone else without hurting yourself, right? We're trying to stop you from further damaging your body."

Anya loosened her grip on his shoulder, and chuckled. "So, Andy told you, then?"

He nodded.

"He also told us about what happened to him," Raven quietly added to the conversation, testing her newly healed arm. "Thanks, by the way."

"Hn…" Anya shrugged lightly, silent. She had barely noticed that both Starfire and her brother had finally entered the room, and sighed. "Well, you already know that much, then. After I'm done with Aqualad and beast Boy, I'll tell you the rest. I'll tell you the real reason why Andy and I are here."

Her promise made, she walked towards the tank and the bed, and studied the damage on Beast Boy first. "Broken leg in five places, including femur, five snapped ribs, sprained ankle, twisted shoulder…" Her hand floated over the places she had said aloud, then walked over to the tank, and inspected Aqualad while her last patient healed as fast as she had noted them.

Aqualad's eyes were soon on her. She paused, hesitated, and lifted her hand to the glass. She didn't bother saying his injuries out loud, and sighed. Aqualad stared right back at her, his previously injured leg soon healed, and smiled, meeting her hand with his against the glass. She froze, her hand still in place. _It's warm…_

"Anya?" Andy's voice cut through her thoughts, causing her to jolt in surprise. She let her hand fall off the glass to her side, still warm. "Hey, c'mon. You have a promise to fulfill."

She slowly nodded, but watched as the tank soon emptied of water, and let Aqualad slip out of the chamber, fully recovered. "Yeah…"

_A promise to fulfill…_


	6. Time of Dying

Chapter 6:

Time of Dying

In mid-afternoon, just before dusk, the main room would be lit with a golden light that nearly drowned out all other bleak colors in its wake. From that very same place, you can see the sun just barely setting over the ocean, causing the ripples in the water to shine also in that beautiful golden light. The sky was painted different colors, following the sun to shine in another part of the world, and all the while, allowing the moon to give way into the newly-turning violet sky with pale blue rays.

However beautiful, Anya dully noted, it would always goes away for the longest time. And yet she, the Reaper of Time itself, is forbidden to halt such a precious moment into her very human mind. She turned away from the window to face the Teen Titans, the same golden light creating a halo around her being, yet allowing the shadows to swallow the side that faced the Titans.

"As I promised, I will tell you the real reason why Andy and I are here, and why Andy is the way he is," Anya turned to Andy for a few fleeting seconds, only to allow him to give her a small nod, and inhaled deeply. "First, I will tell you about us…"

Anya closed her eyes, and lifted her hand over her head. Within seconds, she felt the hilt of her scythe fill her hand, and sighed quietly. She whispered a few words incoherently, and soon the room began to shiver. She heard the other exclaim, but she instead concentrated on her spell. She thought of the very memories that she tried desperately to forget, only to allow it to flood the room with such intensity. She thought of the day that her life changed. She thought of the day that Andy died. She thought of the day when everything had shifted off the eternal course of Time, the day she, in a sense, died inside…

_"**Rewind."**_

_The room changed completely into something that looked like a waiting room at a sort of hospital, or orphanage. It was later explained to be both, where she and Andy had lived 9 years ago._

_The room had been filled with adults, staring at all the children at once. The would walk to a few, talk among themselves, and from there a child's destiny would form. Three children had secluded themselves in the corner of the room, away from the adults to prevent them from taking them away from each other. Two of the three children had ebony hair and burning emerald eyes, while the third had sunlit blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and all wore the required birches given to them on their birthdays by the Agency. It was obvious who the two children were, but the third had long since hid her face away from sight._

_A few adults spotted them from time to time, only to cause Anya to glare at them with such a hostile look for a small child to hold, resulting the adults to scamper away. Andy jabbed her in the side, only to make him receive her glare. The girl that hid behind Andy's arm peaked out to see if she could silence the nearing fight. She placed her pale hand over Anya's slightly tanned one, between them sharing a quiet consent of peace, then filled the silence with laughter. Andy smiled with them, and rung his arm over the both of their shoulders, laughing along. The girl's hair covered most of her face like a curtain, but still her small, grinning mouth was in full view, the laughter ringing in the previously quiet room._

"Andy and I, we're both orphans sent to Pandora's Asylum. Our real parents died when we were 5, and we've been in that hellhole since. That was the first place we met our first friend, that girl you see there, Terra," _Anya inhaled quietly, and lifted her chin slightly up._ "That was also the first time we experienced our loss at living a normal life as regular human children…"

_It had only been a few seconds of that small scene of happiness when it suddenly shifted into a completely different scene in the middle of the street at night. The same three children, all at least a few years older than the last scene, were frantically running down the empty road away from the quickly ascending screaming sounds of sirens. Three giant black vans flew straight towards them, all the drivers and occupants in large white lab trench coats. The younger Terra tripped on something on the ground, falling full front on her face, grunting at the impact of the landing. Anya and Andy skidded to a halt, and gathered the girl as quickly as possible to her feet and ran again into the darkness. One of the vans had gotten extremely close to them, one sliding door wide open to reveal one of the men in lab coats wielding a smaller version of a bazooka in his arms. He leaned out the door slightly enough for his to aim at the children, and the barrel was quickly emptied with remaining smoke and debris soon enough._

"You see, when we turned 8, we ran away from that place, all three of us. We pick pocketed and stole as much cash and food as we could until we had enough to take with us to buy plane tickets to South Korea, and hid there for about five months, until they found us again, and like before, we ran. We only made it as far as the lot of the third building when Andy was shot down."

_Soon after Anya had said the last few words, the younger Andy fell to the ground, blood seeping from his lips onto the gleaming asphalt below him. His body began to shake violently, and his chest revealed a massive bleeding gorge where his heart once was. He choked and sputtered inaudibly, more blood draining beneath him. The younger Anya and Terra screamed, and half dragged, half shoved his body into the small alley behind two buildings that they managed to hide against. The younger Anya's eyes began watering up, clasping her hands with her fallen brother's, and Terra threw her hands over theirs. The two girls began sobbing quietly, watching the streets while Andy's convulsions slowly stopped. A tiny darkness seemed to grow in the young girls' eyes, and Terra slowly stood up, still watching the black van drive their way again, and rose her arms in the air._

_The ground shuddered and collapsed beneath the van, swallowing it whole before the gaping hole closed. The younger Anya just clutched the still boy's body close to her, her emerald eyes dull and bleak. Terra whimpered out a slight cry, then little by little, she convulsed into a huge sob that shook her entire tiny frame._

"It was then, in that lot, where I first used my powers, and realized its' deadly potential."

_The younger Anya lifted her eyes slightly towards the crying girl, then back to Andy's body, then back to where the destroyed ground had swallowed the vans. Almost immediately, the young girl's hand flipped over to expose her empty palm towards the sky, her emerald eyes suddenly burning brighter than they ever had before. Within seconds, her recently empty hand was filled with a long scythe with a large clock holding the blades and the staff together, the three irregular hands of the clock twisted and bent in many directions. Soon after the scythe appeared, four huge clocks flew out from the ruptured ground, each with a tiny skull protruding from the top, and with almost all the hands bending quickly to the skulls. The younger Anya simply stared at the clocks, and shifted her hand ever so slightly to where the tip of the scythe pointed straight toward the four clocks. She flicked her wrist gently, and soon the clocks evaporated into nothing but specks of dust that traveled slowly toward the scythe, which by then was slowly twisting its way to another clock that hovered over Andy's body, the hands dangerously close to the skull that decorated the top of the clock. Anya's eyes then suddenly went from a shimmering emerald to a burning scarlet as the dust got closer to Andy's clock, and she swiped the scythe across the dust so it scattered above the boy's unmoving body. The girl whispered something quietly, but because of the empty streets and the fact that Terra had long since stopped crying to stare at Anya in amazed wonder, it echoed throughout the dark walls in the night like a haunting spirit forever doomed to wander in Purgatory._

_"**Pause."**_

_The clock froze. The dust hovered still over the body began glowing a dim gold, almost enhancing Andy's young features further with their eerie lights. The young Time Reaper gently tapped Andy's clock twice with the edge of the scythe, her eyes still a smoldering scarlet. The dust glowed brighter, and rushed towards the clock with a speed that almost made it seem as if lines of golden light were about to pierce the clock. She glanced up at the clock, watching as the hands began moving backwards, then glanced back down at her brother's body as the gorge in his chest began to shrink into nothing. Not even a scar was left. Terra, frozen in place for the longest time due to shock and fear, squeaked in surprise as Andy's chest began to rise and fall within mere seconds. His eyes fluttered open, and a sigh escaped his pale lips. He was alive again, or so the others thought._

"Despite everything, Andy had already died, but because I paused Time right at the last second, I managed to 'extend' his Time, but at a price: I had to take something of his in order to make the last arrangements final." _Anya explained briefly, her own fair complexion paling as she watched her younger self hover over her recently revived brother._

_It was then that everyone noticed that the young girl's eyes were still that deadly scarlet. The scythe gleamed dangerously over Andy's head, positioning itself in the right place before swinging down in an instance._

_Darkness flooded out of the vision, following blood-curdling screams and a sickening slashing noise, making the others visibly flinch in horror or turn away. Anya stared at the small group before her, ashamed and filled with self disgust. Even if it was a glimpse, she still hated having to remember that she was a monster born to dealt out Death, hence the very fact that she is a Reaper by name. She inhaled deeply, and tapped her scythe on the nonexistent floor beneath her to grab the others' attention once more._

"Soon after, I ran away from that alleyway and to the forest areas of Southern Korea, and took up the native martial arts from that particular area, then I fled to China and Japan to further my studies in different martial art styles in order to preserve my self control in my power. However, I returned to the US after my 13th birthday, as a stowaway, since I didn't have any money at the time, and was soon adopted by a woman named Diana Jun, a wealthy widow who thought I would ease her growing loneliness in her mansion. I hadn't known that my brother and my friend had also both gone back to the US before me, and that Andy was also adopted by Ma. The first time I saw him, he had an eye patch over his left eye, and that he was still aging despite him being a living zombie."

"She kept asking questions about how I managed to get back home in one piece, and how our friend had fared, since she wasn't with me at the time. I simply told her that when she took my eye, she also took the feral instinct that would have overpowered me as soon as I, well, 'died,'" _Andy intruded quietly, his eye filled with ancient pain of betrayal and depression._ "As for Terra…"

"She was never heard from again." _Anya finished in a tiny whisper, her eyes downcast. It had been years since they last saw her, and ever then, they'd nearly forgotten how she looked like… Anya coughed quietly under her breath, and rubbed her cheek idly. Andy nodded in silent agreement once again, his hands shoved deep into his pant pockets._

The scene then shifted back to the original main room where the discussion began. Anya summoned her scythe away, her eyes hidden from the others by the curtain of her ebony hair. A hand rested lightly on her shoulder, and she winced slightly in surprise, looking up to see Robin giving her a similar broken look that she held so long ago.

"…You're wrong about Terra We knew who she was." His voice was quiet, which was odd for Anya, who rose her eyebrows in question. Robin's features deepened, much too much for a teen who was barely 18.

"She came to the Tower about 3 years ago, just passing through. She never had the means to stay, but we wanted her to. The problem was, she couldn't control her powers very well, and almost destroyed herself in the process. At first, she didn't trust us, but after a while, she became one of our closest friends; but because of a misunderstanding, she thought she was betrayed, and ran away to our archenemy. He fooled her into becoming his apprentice, saying he could help her control her powers, but…" He paused, lowering his head slightly. "…But he lied. He used her to control the city. She managed to escape his control in the end, but at a cost… We did everything we could… to get her back… but… but…"

Anya felt his hand shake against her shoulder, and Robin grew quiet. She turned to glance at the other teens, noting that everyone had grown extremely quiet, but the most noticeable one was Beast Boy. Not only was he shaking and his fists were clenched to a point where blood was seeping our of his gray gloves, but he was crying, something Anya had never seen before. He whispered one world incoherently in between his silent sobs. The usually over-cheery, overzealous, more-often-than-not-annoying green-skinned teen super hero… Her heart broke for her new teammates. She turned to her brother, her mouth pursed in a thin line. Andy looked back at her, and sighed quietly. She looked back down at her boots, silent again.

"… Can you revive her?"

All occupants in the room turned to Aqualad, who, despite the current situation, was almost glaring fiercely at Anya with black eyes that reminded her of the depths of the ocean. Her eyes widened, half in horror, half in suspicion. Cyborg, being the closest person to him, snarled under his breath and grabbed Aqualad's collar.

"Are you brain-dead?! Terra sacrificed herself to save us! It's been too long since she…" Cyborg's voice shook slightly, his grip on Aqualad's collar loosening a bit. "…Even if Anya could, it's been way too long. She's been down there for three years, man… Three years…" His grip faltered, letting the young warrior fall to the floor in his knees, coughing. Anya unconsciously slipped next to his side before actually realizing what she was doing. 'Just checking to see if his windpipe hasn't been shattered, is all.'

Aqualad took a quick glance at Anya, then quickly looked down. "… Sorry." Anya sat still next to him, the tense feeling quickly fading away. From where she sat, she dully noted that everyone else was also starting to relax, calming sighs coming from either direction of each member in the room.

_'Waitaminit.'_

Anya stood up quickly and turned to glare at Andy. "Quit it. I know what you're doing."

And again, all eyes turned to the undead teen, who was leaning against the couch with his only eye, like Anya earlier, hidden by his hair; the only thing visible was his small smirk. He shoved off the couch lightly, and flipped his hair away from the right side of his face where his only eye was visible, the left covered with more hair than before. That, however, wasn't what made Anya fall into an instant fighting stance.

Andy's right eye, at the moment, was an electric violet.

**(A/N:) Whoa, this one's actually pretty long... Anyhoo, sorry for the lack of updates, I've been dealing with RL drama and whatnot, and my laptop's being a real bitch to me. Yeah, so, please R&R! Since it's summer, I'll do my best at updating more often. ;; _Adios!_**


End file.
